Matt Wiman on his not-so-ordinary breakthrough performance

Four days after “Handsome” Matt Wiman (10-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) earned his fourth straight UFC victory in $50,000 bonus, Fight of the Night fashion, the 24-year-old has yet to snap back to reality.

Wiman discussed how the victory affected his life while a guest on Wednesday’s edition of TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

“I’m on a high right now that I can’t come down from, that I can’t even comprehend,” Wiman said. “It’s so crazy coming off of a big win like this. I knew I was capable of fighting like that. For it to all get put together like that is just such a blessing.”

Few expected Wiman to emerge victorious from his clash with fellow UFC lightweight up-and-comer Thiago Tavares. But the Tulsa, Okla. native credits new training partners, including the Machado and Mohler camps in Dallas, as well as previous battles with strong opponents as his key to success.

“I knew I was at that level,” Wiman said. “Spencer Fisher, Roger Huerta, Manvel (Gamburyan). I took big fights before, and I was right there. So I knew I was at that level. … But for it to come out like that was just a lot of vindication. And again, I couldn’t be more excited about that.”

Wiman openly expressed his emotion when speaking in the octagon with UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the exciting, back-and-forth battle. Wiman explained today the feelings that surrounded the moment.

“Life is just crazy right now,” Wiman explained. “There was so much pressure on me to win this fight … financially and mentally as well. Nobody wants to go in getting married with a big loss hanging over their head. I had to overcome that pressure. I felt like I was going to explode so many times. My head was just a mess at one time. It was just nice to all work out the way [my fiancé and I] planned it.”

Wiman, who will be married this weekend, was thankful for the UFC’s $50,000 bonus and said he was also very fortunate to escape the bout with very little damage that would end up captured forever in a wedding album. Fortunately for the groom-to-be, Wiman was covered either way.

“[My fiancé] actually likes black eyes,” Wiman said. “She was like, ‘I wouldn’t mind if [Tavares] blacked [an] eye or two,’ which was kind of weird. But she likes black eyes because she thinks it looks tough. Either way she was going to be happy.”

Also adding to the excitement of the evening for Wiman was the support of good friend and UFC light-heavyweight legend Chuck Liddell. “The Iceman” accompanied Wiman to the cage and even assisted in cornering the fight.

“I only had one [cornerman] flown out there for me,” Wiman explained. “So I asked [Liddell] backstage, ‘Hey, if you want to walk out with us, that would be cool.’ And he was like, ‘Dude, I’d love to.’ I said ‘And hey, if you want to stay in my corner, that would be cool as well, but I know you’re a busy guy. You got things going on.’ And he said ‘I’d love to.’ For that, I couldn’t think more of Chuck as a person.

“It shows what kind of character he has. He’s one of the highest-paid, most famous, biggest rock star in fighting history, in my opinion, and he’s that quick to be in a servant position. That speaks a load on his character. He was genuinely helpful. He wasn’t doing it for a PR stunt. He wasn’t doing it to look like he’s being helpful. He was doing it because he genuinely wanted to help someone.”

But greater than the money earned, or the experience gained, Wiman was most grateful for the lessons he learned about himself on Saturday evening. The lightweight believes it was a defining moment that can propel him to future success.

“When I first fought in the UFC, I thought that was it,” Wiman said. “Because when I was young, nobody I ever knew had ever done anything, had ever accomplished anything growing up. To say when I was little, ‘Hey I’m going to fight in the UFC,’ everybody told me I was the biggest joke in the world and that I needed to take life seriously and stop playing around because nobody ever does anything like that. For me to say that and actually fight in the UFC?

“When I fought Spencer Fisher (in my UFC debut), I wasn’t mentally capable of anything because I thought [getting there] was the goal. I fought in the UFC. Holy crap, I’m a UFC veteran. My dream was to fight in the UFC, but I think that God’s plan was a lot different and a lot bigger and better.

“I think I put limits on what we’re capable of and what our lives can be. And now look at what I’ve got — four wins (in a row) — and I would have never imagined it could get this far, so I’m not going to put limits on how far it can go. I could be champion, and I could be making more money, and I could be an inspiration to people. So I’m not going to put limits saying this is as good as it can get, even though it seems that way right now.”

Wiman further discussed his relationship with Liddell and also explained the process of receiving a UFC bonus check — including the bitterness of having English taxes withheld. To hear the full interview, download Wednesday’s edition of TAGG Radio, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.

This story, written by John Morgan, was produced by TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com) specially for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The show — which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg, Gorgeous George and ace producer Goze — books some of the biggest names in MMA. Download all the former episodes at www.taggradio.com, or tune into TAGG Radio’s live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.